Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 6 as we continue our study through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We are currently in a portion of Paul’s letter that deals with sanctification and this section covers chapters 6 through 8 of Romans. Here in Romans chapter 6 we are looking at SANCTIFICATION AND SIN and we broke this down into four sections.
Last week we looked at the first two verses of Romans chapter 6 that deal’s with this issue of sin and we called this section that covers verses 1-11, YOU CANNOT BECAUSE YOU ARE UNITED WITH CHRIST. And Paul was answering a question that some may have had regarding grace and if we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, does that give a person a license to sin? In other words we should sin more and more because the more we sin the more God’s grace abounds!
And Paul tells them and us, “Of course not!” “Perish the thought!” “God forbid!” Or to put it in our vernacular, “What are you, nuts?” Sin should no longer control our lives; have dominion over us because we have died to that sin nature. It doesn’t mean we don’t sin, but we are not slaves to sin but slaves to Christ. And Paul is going to continue to focus on this issue of death to sin, death to the old life in these verses this morning. But before we get to our text, let me share this with you. We are told:
A certain man wanted to sell his house in Haiti for $2,000. Another man wanted to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: he would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The moral of the parable is, “If we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation.”
- Leadership, Spring 1983
In other words, don’t make a provision for the flesh, it must be crucified or it will rise up and control your life, it will stink! With that said, let’s begin reading in Romans chapter 6, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us as we look at this issue of SIN AND SANCTIFICATION!
Folk’s, before we were saved, before Jesus was Lord and Savior of our lives, we were dead in sins! But now we are dead to sin and like I have said, it is speaking of sin no longer having power over our lives. Yes, dead to sin but alive in Christ! Again, it is not that sin is gone; we just are not slaves to it. We are not under the power of SIN! With that said, let’s continue looking at YOU CANNOT BECAUSE YOU ARE UNITED TO CHRIST!
VERSES 3-4
Here is the first key word in this chapter and it is used three different ways. Here in verse 3 the English word is “know” and it is the Greek word AGNOEO and it speaks of being ignorant of something. What is Paul saying that these Christians were ignorant of or they knew what was true but now they have cast it away? Since he already has showed us that we have been released from the GUILT of SIN as we looked at justification, Paul is speaking of here that they were ignorant of how to be released from the POWER of SIN!
Wait a minute Paul, how can we as Christians be ignorant? How much time do you have? No, but it is simple. Satan keeps us ignorant by keeping us out of God’s Word! And if we are ignorant of the things of God, we will be impotent in the things we do for God! How do you think the enemy is doing in regards to this?
Listen to this survey that was taken of 7441 mainline denominational clergy in America. They asked them, “Do you believe the Scriptures are the inerrant word of God?” Listen to how they responded:
95% of Episcopalian priests answered no!
87% of Methodist ministers answered no!
82% of Presbyterians answered no!
77% of American Lutherans answered no!
67% of American Baptists answered no!
It looks like Satan is doing a great job in keeping people ignorant of the things of God. You see, if the pastor does not believe the Scriptures are the Words of God, then their congregation will most likely feel the same way. They will not rise above the level of their pastor! You see, the Word of God has the power to save and set you free from the power of sin and Satan but if people don’t believe God’s Word, then they are not free from the power of sin and Satan.
Listen carefully to what Peter says regarding the Word of God in I Peter 1:22-25, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ‘All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.”
You see, the victory is found in what we know and understand about what God has said to us, that we apply those things to our lives. We need to know what it means to be a child of God! I think Os Guinness put it correctly when he said, “We have left out substance, it is no longer the holies of holies. But vanities of vanities . . . we worship the god of the gut, no deeper than our last experience . . .” Yes, I believe that these Scriptures are the Word of God from Genesis through Revelation and thus, that is how I teach it. I am blessed to see you bring your Bibles to church, that does not happen in many churches today, mainly because they do not teach God’s Word. But Paul does not want us to be ignorant of these things and thus, he is going to share with us what has happened to sin and what has happened to us!
And here in verses 3 and 4 of Romans chapter 6 Paul is saying that we all should understand this truth, we should not be ignorant of it, and he uses baptism to illustrate his point. The word “baptized” or “baptism” means, “to immerse or overwhelm something.” If Paul wanted to speak of being “sprinkled” he would have used the Greek word RHANTIZO, as we see that used in Hebrews 9:13 for the sprinkling of blood on the altar in the Old Testament. Or, if he wanted to speak of “pouring” out he would have used the Greek word EKCHEO and we see that used of the Holy Spirit being poured out. But Paul used the Greek word BAPTIZO, which speaks of full immersion in the Greek.
And when you look at how it is used here, it has to mean immersion. Paul is saying that when we are saved we are identifying ourselves with Christ and as He was buried in the tomb, we are buried in the waters of baptism, it is a picture of death, the death of the old life so that as we come out of the waters of baptism, resurrected you might say, we begin a new life in Christ.
Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” And in Galatians 2:20 Paul tells us, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Now please understand this. Paul is not saying that water baptism saves us or that if you are not immersed in water, only had water sprinkled over your head or you were not baptized at all you are not saved. Water baptism isn’t essential for salvation but it is a beautiful symbol of your commitment to Jesus! Paul is only using it as in illustration of what takes place in a person’s life once they are saved and it is a visual picture of a spiritual truth. You see, Romans 6 is the reality and water baptism is only a ritual that symbolizes the reality! I believe we should be baptized in water, the Lord commands us to, but it doesn’t save us!
Thus, getting back to that question of, “Should we continue in sin so that grace may abound?” Certainly not! And Paul’s point here is that we are to walk in the newness of life that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord! Don’t let the old life resurrect itself and control you, be controlled by the Spirit of God! It is as Paul said in Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “For as many [of you] as were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union and communion with Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah] have put on (clothed yourselves with) Christ.” And The Living Bible puts it like this, “and we who have been baptized into union with Christ are enveloped by him.” I like that. Christ is wrapped around us, He is our covering and thus, may we walk accordingly, in the newness of life that has been given to us by Christ!
VERSE 5
Now verse 5 is better translated “Since we have been united together in the likeness of His death . . .” and not “For if . . .” Also, that phrase “united together” is a botanical term and it speaks of growing together, growing together in Christ, that our life is entwined with His! And Paul’s point is this. We as Christians identify ourselves with Christ. Thus, when He died I died! When He rose from the grave I rose with Him! And now I am seated with Him in the heavens!
I know, some of you may not believe that, but listen carefully to what Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-6, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
And it just does not end there for Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Some of you may not be grasping this but let me explain it this way, with the story of the resurrection of Lazarus found in John chapter 11.
Here in John chapter 11 we see the friend of Jesus, Lazarus die and by the time Jesus gets to Bethany Lazarus has been in the tomb 4 days! Thus, he is dead; there is no question about that. In fact, when Jesus tells them to roll the stone away from the tomb, Martha responds by saying, “Lord, by this time there is such a stench, for he has been dead four days.” And Jesus, by the power of His Word cries out, “Lazarus, come forth!” and he does! Jesus raised Lazarus, His friend from the dead!
Now this is where the story ends for many, but it does continue on. You see, when Lazarus came out from the tomb he was wrapped in grave clothes. We are told in John 11:44 we are told, “And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’” In other words, Lazarus had been raised “in newness of life” but he couldn’t walk in the newness of life until the grave clothes were removed! He was all bound up in those grave clothes until they were removed!
Folk’s, many Christians are like that, remaining with the grave clothes of ignorance or unbelief and thus, they can’t walk in the newness of life that has been given to them in Christ! Peter reminds us in II Peter 1:3-4, “ . . . His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Now many wonder how we can appropriate this into our lives and the answer is simple, by FAITH! Know the promises of God, believe the promises of God and then walk in them by FAITH!
It is as Bishop Handley Moule tells us as he wrote:
We have “received the reconciliation” that we may now walk, not away from God, as if released from a prison, but with God, as His children in His Son. Because we are justified, we are to be holy, separated from sin, separated to God; not as a mere indication that our faith is real, and that therefore we are legally safe, but because we were justified for this very purpose, that we might be holy . . .
The grapes upon a vine are not merely a living token that the tree is a vine and is alive; they are the product for which the vine exists. It is a thing not to be thought of that the sinner should accept justification — and live to himself. It is a moral contradiction of the very deepest kind, and cannot be entertained without betraying an initial error in the man's whole spiritual creed.
- Bishop Handley Moule, The Epistle to the Romans, pp. 160-61
Thus, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” Romans 6:4-5. May we walk accordingly!
VERSES 6-7
Here we see Paul use the second Greek word for “know” or “knowing” and that is GINOSKO. This word speaks of taking in knowledge, the process of learning. And Paul is telling us that we need to take this in, we need to learn this by experience. Why? Because if we are going to have freedom from sins ability to control you, then you need to understand these things! And what does Paul want us to know? That the old man is dead!
Now what does Paul mean when he tells us, “that our old man was crucified with Him”? Some say that the “old man” is speaking of our “old nature” but I don’t believe that is completely correct. You see, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:22, “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” The Living Bible puts it like this, “then throw off your old evil nature-the old you that was a partner in your evil ways-rotten through and through, full of lust and sham.”
Here in Ephesians Paul can’t be speaking of our old sin nature that we inherited from Adam because it does not grow corrupt, it is already corrupt! I think Paul is speaking of our former behavior, the way we once lived. The old nature is, again, what we inherited from Adam and the result of that is that the old man or the old me has been put to death, buried with Christ, it is gone! We need to understand that!
Now, what does Paul mean when he says, “that the body of sin might be done away with”? Listen carefully.
Kenneth Wuest, the Greek scholar, said that according to the rules of Greek syntax all of the references to “sin” in chap. 6 are actually referring to the “sin nature.” So then what Paul is really saying is “ . . . the body of the sin nature . . .”
And, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is correct when he says that by the term “body of sin” Paul is talking about the old nature, and its influence on our physical body. Here’s the thing folk’s. The body itself is not sinful, as some might think. No, the body is basically neutral. Then what is the problem? The problem is this. The body can be controlled by the old sinful nature or by our new nature in Christ! That is what makes the difference, who is controlling your life? And I like what my pastor had to say regarding this, “A tremendous fact is introduced here: the old man (the old me, the old life) was crucified with Christ so that the physical body need not be controlled by the sin nature any longer.”
And that phrase, “that the body of sin might be done away with” in the Greek it is Katargeo, and I am sorry to say it does not mean destroyed or eradicated. This phrase means to, “rendered inoperative,” “made ineffective,” that it no longer exerts a controlling force or power. Why is that? Because that sin nature is still alive but the old man is dead and thus, the body is no longer controlled by or bound to, or forced to be the instrument through which the sin nature expresses itself! Praise the Lord for that!
Think about it like this. Before you were saved, before Jesus was your Lord and Savior, your body was the instrument of your sin nature because the old you, the old man was the slave to your fallen sin nature. But now in Christ the old man is dead, it was buried with Christ and the new man with the new nature was born in you. Thus, this new man wants to use your body as an instrument of righteousness, godliness and-so-on!
Yes, the old nature is still there but it does not have the old man to work through because the old man was crucified with Christ! Paul put it like this in Colossians 3:8-10, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”
Again, listen to what my pastor said as he illustrated this point:
Let me use the illustration of an old steam powered train. You have the locomotive (the old man, with his evil desires), next you have the coal car (the old nature, which fuels the old man), and finally you have the body of the train (my physical body).
Before I knew Jesus my sinful nature (which I received from Adam) was fueling the evil desires of my old man which in turn used the body to satisfy those desires by moving the body in the direction that the old me wanted it to go.
If you take away the locomotive, the coal car has nothing to feed and the train becomes inoperative.
The same is true with the old man. Take him away and the old nature has nothing to fuel and therefore the body, as the instrument of sin, is rendered inoperative.
- Pastor Phil Ballmaier
Dr. Martyn-Lloyd-Jones gives to us another helpful illustration of the believer’s relation to his old sinful disposition. He pictures two adjoining fields, one is owned by Satan and God owns the other. And a road separates these fields. Before salvation, a person lives in Satan’s filed and thus, they are totally subject to his jurisdiction. But, after a person is saved, a person works in the other field now and they are subject only to God’s jurisdiction. As he works in this new field, there is still the problem of the other field and thus, the believer is often enticed by his former master who is trying to get that person to go back to his old sinful ways. And Satan often does entice a believer; he succeeds in temporarily drawing the believer’s attention away from his new Master and his new way of life. But he is powerless to draw the believer back into the old field of sin and death. You see, we have been delivered from the tyranny of Satan, but not the temptation of Satan!
Paul put it like this in Ephesians 4:17-32, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another. ‘Be angry, and do not sin’: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” In other words, walk in that newness of life that you have in Christ and don’t be taken captive by Satan; you have been freed from Sin!
VERSES 8-10
Again, this should be translated “Since we have died with Christ.” not “Now if”. Since we have identified ourselves with the death of Christ, knowing also that He was raised from the dead, it gives to us assurance that we too have been raised with Him! It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 15:20-22, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
And here in verse 9 we see Paul use the third Greek word for “knowing” and that is the Greek word, EIDON and it is a word that means to see or to know and understand something. What is it that Paul wants us to know and understand? If death has no dominion over Jesus, we can have assurance it will have no dominion over us! The new man does not just have life, but eternal life, everlasting life! And folk’s, this is not some future event that Paul is talking about, the monument we get saved we enter into this new life and sin and death have no dominion over us! I think we all believe that Jesus died and paid the penalty for sin, but how many of you believe that He also died to break the power of sin? You see, He did break the power of sin in our lives.
Remember what Paul said in Galatians 5:16, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Now some see it like this. If I don’t walk in the flesh, if I don’t do those things that are sinful, then I am walking in the Spirit! That is not what Paul is saying here. He is saying that if you walk in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God has control of your life, you will not seek after and lust for the things of the flesh! The first is man-centered and it is up to us and we can’t do it. The second is God-centered and with His help we can do it!
Thus, this new life that God has given to us we live unto God. Of this Spurgeon said: “If God has given to you and me an entirely new life in Christ, how can that new life spend itself after the fashion of the old life? Shall the spiritual live as carnal? How can you that were the servants of sin, but have been made free by precious blood, go back to your old slavery?” You see, it wouldn’t make sense to go back to the old life. Thus, you are a new creation in Christ, the old things have passed away, and it is not resuscitation but a transformation and thus, if Christ has done this for you, you need to live accordingly? Yes, we may understand that in a positional sense, but how do I live this practically, on a daily basis? Paul goes on to tell us in the next verse.
VERSE 11
When Paul uses the word “reckon,” it was an accounting term, and it simply means, “to put into one’s account.” Now some have taken this to an unbiblical conclusion, like those in the Positive Confession/Faith Movement. They tells us that if you want something, whatever that may be, you just need to “reckon” it to be true and because of you doing that, you will make it true! I hope you all see the foolishness of that. And please understand that Paul is not speaking of wishful thinking here, if it is not in the account then it is not yours! In other word’s, what a person has in his ledger has to accurately correspond to what exists in their account. Let me show you how this is played out in a negative way.
This is from the Associate Press:
(AP) — MANCHESTER, N.H. - A New Hampshire man says he swiped his debit card at a gas station to buy a pack of cigarettes and was charged over 23 quadrillion dollars.
Josh Muszynski (Moo-SIN'-ski) checked his account online a few hours later and saw the 17-digit number-a stunning $23,148,855,308,184,500 (twenty-three quadrillion, one hundred forty-eight trillion, eight hundred fifty-five billion, three hundred eight million, one hundred eighty-four thousand, five hundred dollars).
Muszynski says he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers and the $15 overdraft fee.
The bank corrected the error the next day.
Bank of America tells WMUR-TV only the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.
- The Associated Press, 7/15/2009, Information from: WMUR-TV, http://wmur.com
I know the tax on cigarettes is getting expensive, but this is a little high, don’t you think? And I want to know his credit limit, man, mine is not even close to that! Now, all kidding aside, as bizarre a story as that is, this man did not have in his account that kind of money, I don’t think if you took the income of everyone in the world you could come up with that kind of money. Thus, this was not something that could be reckoned!
What Paul is telling us is that we need to simply believe that what God has said in His Word is really true in your life, it is a settled fact, you can take it to the bank! What do we need to put into our account by faith? We have to put this into our account by faith that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ! Why is that? Because we still have these bodies of flesh and the flesh nature, that old man or woman does try to resurrect itself and control our lives from time-to-time.
Thus, by faith I believe the old life was put to death and we wait for the redemption of our bodies when this flesh nature will be done away with, when this corruptible body has put on incorruption and this mortal body has put on immortality. Paul put it this way in Romans 8:18-23, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” We wait for that day!
This does not mean that we are immune to sin or temptation. It does not mean that we will not sin. It means that we are dead to the old life and can’t go back to it. Martin Luther put it like this, “You can't stop birds from flying around your head but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.” I think you get the picture. In other words, sin and temptation are all around you, there is nothing you can do about it, but you can keep it from nesting in your mind.
Listen to this illustration and you will see how sin can distract us from the work we are to do. We are told:
John Mason Brown was a drama critic and speaker well known for his witty and informative lectures on theatrical topics. One of his first important appearances as a lecturer was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Brown was pleased, but also rather nervous, and his nerves were not helped when he noticed by the light of the slide projector that someone was copying his every gesture.
After a time he broke off his lecture and announced with great dignity that if anyone was not enjoying the talk, he was free to leave. Nobody did, and the mimicking continued. It was another 10 minutes before Brown realized that the mimic was his own shadow!
Was Brown’s shadow real? Of course. Does a shadow have the power to control a person’s actions? Of course not. It can only mimic us. But in Brown’s case, his shadow did take control momentarily. Why? Because he allowed himself to be so distracted—“addicted,” if you will - by it that he completely forgot what he was supposed to be about.
That’s a pretty good description of the sin nature we carry within us as redeemed people. It can cause havoc, even though it has been made powerless by our identification with Christ.
- Today in the Word, May 17, 1992
As I close this morning, we have looked at this section on SANCTIFICATION AND SIN and specifically, in these first 11 verses regarding sin, that YOU CANNOT BECAUSE YOU ARE UNITED TO CHRIST! May we not forget that fact. You see, we shall not continue in sin so that grace may abound, that is foolishness because we are united to Christ, the old man is dead and we now walk by faith in the new life we have in Christ! Thus, since we are dead to sin and alive to God, may we now walk in that newness of life He has given to us, may we act upon the knowledge that we know, that we have seen here in Romans chapter 6! As Paul said, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Or as The Amplified Bible puts it, “Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” May we not forget that!